


Five times Meraclya tried to escape her prison in Mirkwood, and one time she didn't have to

by apprentieguerriere



Category: the lord of the rings
Genre: F/M, five times and one kinda thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2014-02-20
Packaged: 2018-01-13 04:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1213285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apprentieguerriere/pseuds/apprentieguerriere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"When they brought her to King Thranduil, after they captured her, the intruder, a young woman, didn’t seem scared at all. That’s what struck Legolas, actually : her calm, relaxed look. Herself wasn’t really striking : a young human, quite tall for her kind, slender, with long brown hair, blue eyes and pale skin. Pretty enough, for a human. But really, nothing remarkable."</p>
<p>Meraclya, a young woman, is caught as she was trying to enter Mirkwood without being seen. She is thrown in prison and will try to escape, all the while starting to develop a strange relationship with Mirkwood's prince, who really shouldn't be taking such an interest in a prisoner...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five times Meraclya tried to escape her prison in Mirkwood, and one time she didn't have to

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set some time before The Lord Of The Rings events, but not at a specific time.

  **INTRO.**

                When they brought her to King Thranduil, after they captured her, the intruder, a young woman, didn’t seem scared at all. That’s what struck Legolas, actually : her calm, relaxed look. Herself wasn’t really striking : a young human, quite tall for her kind, slender, with long brown hair, blue eyes and pale skin. Pretty enough, for a human. But really, nothing remarkable.  

                She was dressed quite simply, with travelling clothes made of leather and cotton, but she wore pants, when most women usually wore skirts.

 “Well,” said Thranduil when the young woman (or girl? It was difficult to know, with this race that aged so fast) stood a few meters from him. “What is a human doing in our land?”  
“I didn’t want to upset your people, my King,” answered the intruder with not even an ounce of fear in her voice. “I am only a too curious traveller that wanted to see this kingdom that people have talked to me about so much.”  
“Is that so?” asked Thranduil with this cold smile that usually had criminals shaking with fear, but seemed to do nothing to this one. “And what is this traveller’s name?”  
“Meraclya, daughter of Haywett, my King.”  
“Well, Meraclya,” Thranduil continued, “how about you tell me the real reason of your intrusion in Mirkwood?”

                The intruder didn’t even look confused, keeping her relaxed look.

“I told you, Sir. I came here to discover the wonders that I have heard of.”  
“Simply a journey to do some sight-seeing, then? During these dark, difficult times?”

                The human cheerfully shrugged.

“Well, Sir, exactly : I thought that with such a dark future, I had better see what I wanted to see now, for it may never happen otherwise.”

                Thranduil studied her coldly.

“It is a very foolish thing, human, to try to lie to an Elf, especially one as powerful as me,” he said in an icy tone, dropping his false kindness.

                The human opened her mouth to reply, but Thanduil cut her off to speak to the guards that had brought her in.

“Did she have weapons on her?” he asked.  
“Yes, my King,” one of them answered immediately. “We found on her a bow, arrows, a sword and a dagger. Her travel bag also contained a small knife.”

                Thranduil turned his attention back on the intruder.    

 

“This is an impressive quantity of weapons for a simple traveller,” he remarked in a cold voice.  
“People had told me of the hazards I could encounter between the woods and your kingdom,” the human answered. “I am not completely stupid, you know.”  
“You were still stupid enough to want to go in the forest alone,” Legolas objected, speaking for the first time.

                The traveller shot him an irritated look, dropping her careless attitude for the first time.

“Alright, maybe I underestimated the dangers I would be facing,” she admitted in an annoyed voice. “Nobody had told me about giant spiders.”  
“You were lucky the guards were passing by,” Thranduil said.  
“Oh, I don’t know about that, Sir,” a guard interjected. “She was defending herself quite well. When we arrived, she had already killed at least ten spiders, and she only had five or six left to defeat. And she isn’t even harmed!”

                Thranduil turned his cold stare on the human.

“Really, he murmured. A well-trained warrior, then. I thought humans kept their females far from any martial art...”

                The young woman rolled her eyes, and Legolas cocked an eyebrow. This had to be the most disrespectful thing that anybody had done in front of his father in a long time.

“Alright,” she said, “let’s say my family was not a conservative one. My parents believed that their children had to be able to defend themselves well, whether they were a boy or a girl.”

                Thranduil studied her for a long moment before he spoke again.

“How old are you?”  
“I’m 22 years old.”

                Legolas almost gasped in surprise. He always forgot how fast humans aged. For an elf, a 22 year-old was still merely a child, but for a human, it apparently was a young adult.

“And your parents let you travel alone at such a young age?”  

                The young woman did not answer.

“Where are you from?” Thranduil asked.  
“I’m from Bree. ”  
“That is quite far for a simple sight-seeing trip.”  
“I love travelling.”

                Thranduil sighed in exasperation.

“I am going to give you one last chance : why did you want to break into my kingdom?”

“I have told you a hundred times, Sir : to see the wonders of your land.”

                Thranduil shot her a long look.

“Alright, then,” he finally said. “Put her in prison.”  
“What!” the human exclaimed. “Sir, you can’t be serious! Do you really think I am a threat to your people?!”  
“Of course not,” the King replied. “Otherwise, I would have you tortured so you would reveal the truth about your presence here. But I can’t simply set free a liar that managed to get so far in my kingdom during these troubled times, so you will be imprisoned until you agree to tell the truth.”

                The intruder sighed, her face contorted in an annoyed expression, but even then, Legolas was surprised of her casualness. She didn’t look at all like someone who had just been told they were going to jail.

“I hope you know, King Thranduil, that you are considerably delaying my travel schedule,” she said with annoyance.  
“Well, you know what to do to gain your freedom back,” the king replied in an icy tone.

                Thranduil nodded to the guards, and the young human let them take her without offering the slightest resistance, sighing once more in exasperation before exiting the room.

                _What a strange human_ , Legolas thought.

**I.**

The first time she tried to escape, it couldn’t really be called a true escape bid.

                Legolas was crossing the prison’s corridor, the night following the imprisonment of the young woman, making sure everything was going well, when a voice called out to him.

“A prince guarding the cells? Your kind is definitely very different from mine.”

                Frowning, Legolas turned to see the human observing him from her prison with an amused smile. She was seated on her bunk, legs splayed out, back on the wall behind her. Her posture screamed nonchalance. You would have thought she was on a holiday, not a prisoner.

“What kind of prince would never visit the prisoners of his own kingdom?” Legolas replied.

                The elf immediately bit his lower lip. He wasn’t really supposed to speak to the prisoners. But this one had done so little wrong : actually, Legolas was pretty certain his father had only imprisoned her because he was irritated that she wouldn’t tell him the truth, not because he feared for his kingdom.

                The young woman smile brilliantly.

“Oh, but you speak! Please, I am begging you, go on, Prince of Mirkwood, I am in great need of distraction.”  
“You are not supposed to have distractions, you are in prison,” Legolas replied, a little stupidly.

                The young woman laughed and stood up, walking until she was close to the bars of her cell. She casually leaned on it, cocking one hip. From so close, Legolas could see her better, and he was surprised to find small freckles on her skin, that he had thought immaculate.

                More surprising was that he did not find those freckles repulsive, when that should have been his first reflex as an elf. He even thought they added to her charms...

“Oh, come one,” the young woman said, bringing him back to reality. “It’s not like I had done something really bad. I am only a fool refusing to reveal her secrts.”  
“People who refuse to reveal their secrets are dangerous,” Legolas replied.  
“Oh, don’t be such a hypocrite : as if you had no secrets.”  
“I never said I wasn’t dangerous.”         

                The young woman smiled, but the prince was taken aback by his own words : what was he doing, exactly? Was he flirting with this _human_?! He _really_ needed to find other distractions.

“I definitely like you”, the prisoner cheerfully declared. “What is your name, again?”  
“Legolas,” the elf answered.  
“Well, Legolas, now that we know each other better, would you please release me from this cell?”

                The prince gaped, taken aback.

“Wh.. What?! ” he exclaimed, flabbergasted. “Of course not!!”  
“Come on! I swear I’ll leave your land without causing havoc. ” 

                Legolas gazed at the young woman, dumbfounded by her behavior.  
“No,” he slowly said. “I will not release you.”

                The young woman pouted.

“Alright, then. It was worth a try. ”

                Legolas left without answering, thinking that, really, this was the strangest human, no, _being_ that he had ever met.

                And okay, maybe he started visiting the prisons more often, and maybe he got into the habit of stopping a few minutes to exchange words with the human, but it was simply because there hadn’t been any orc attack lately and that he was bored. Simply for that.

 

**II.**

The second time she tried to escape, it was a more serious attempt. So serious, in fact, that she almost managed to escape, and the guards found her at the last minute, as she was going to leave the royal palace and be free in Mirkwood. Some guards had seen her cell was empty and had started searching for her immediately, but she had managed to remain invisible for a long time –especially for a human. It turned out she was actually moving in the air, using the branches that were sculpted near the palace’s ceiling, jumping gracefully from one “tree” to another.

                She still got caught in the end, and the guards managed to bring her to the ground. She fought a little, refusing to let herself lose so quickly, and when Legolas arrived, he saw that she had already managed, alone and without weapons, to defeat two guards. It’s when she turned around to see Legolas and about twenty other guards aiming their bows at her that she stopped resisting.

“Alright,” she grumbled. “I surrender.”

                She let the guards tie her up without protesting and even smiled at Legolas when she walked passed him, like this was all an amiable game.

“You have to admit, Prince of Mirkwood, that this was a beautiful escape attempt,” she said.

                Legolas suppressed a smile, but the human must have seen it, because hers widened.

                It is only later, when he was passing by her cell, that he whispered :

“You are quite agile in trees.”

                He could have been severely punished for those words, but it was worth it to see the human –no, _Meraclya’s_ answering smile.

 

                Thranduil summoned her to interrogate her the next day. The king was furious that a simple human had managed to elude the prisons’ defenses. Legolas was there, as he was for every interrogation, but he was surprised to notice how anxious he was for this one, and his surprise doubled when he realized he was actually anxious for Meraclya. He had rarely seen his father so frustrated...

                She entered the room with the same nonchalance as always. She didn’t smile as Legolas, though : even her had to understand that the prince wasn’t supposed to be so familiar to her.

“Give me one good reason to not have you tortured for your acts,” Thranduil hissed as soon as the intruder stood before him.

                Legolas’ heart started beating faster, but the young woman remained calm.

“Well, first of all,” she said, “you should considerate the fact that I could have done a lot of damage, but that I caused no havoc ; I also harmed no one, even though I could have. I was free for at least 45 minutes, you know.”

                Legolas winced. Reminding his father of the extent of his guards’ incompetence at finding a simple human in his own palace was not a good strategy to make him more merciful.

“You have knocked out two guards,” Thranduil retorted.  
“Yes, but I have not seriously harmed them, neither have I killed them,” the young woman insisted. “I didn’t even take their weapons to fight with them! Actually, my goal was to simply dodge their blows and escape, but in the urgency of the moment, I miscalculated a few blows... I am very sorry about that, by the way.”

                Mirkwood’s king studied the prisoner for a long time.

“Oh, yeah,” she added, “I also want to add that elves are not inclined to torture, at least I think, and it seems to me that using this last resort for _me_ would be exaggerated.”

                Legolas saw his father clench his jaw.

“You are indeed way too insignificant for such drastic measures to be taken,” he said in an icy tone.

                Legolas had a hard time repressing the relief that shook his whole body.

“Bring her back to her cell,” his father ordered in the same cold voice. “Unless you want to finally tell me why you are here?”  
“I already told you, Sir,” the human sighed with an exasperated look. “The wonders of your kingdom attracted me. While we’re at it, this is a very poor way of welcoming such an admiring visitor, King Thranduil.”

                Thranduil narrowed his eyes.

“To prison, then. And make sure a guard is standing in front of her cell at all times.

                The first thing that Legolas thought after this declaration was not _“Great, now she won’t be able to escape”_ , but _“Oh no, I won’t be able to go see her anymore”_ , and that was more than worrying.

                **III.**

               

                It turned out he didn’t have to wait long before he could speak to her again. The next day, as he was paying his daily visit to the prisoners, during the evening, he witnessed something strange.

                It all began when he heard Meracly talk to “her” guard, trying to get him to let her touch his hair (“ _What?”!_ Legolas thought, although he had believed himself immune to the young woman’s strangeness by now), saying that she wanted to know if elven hair was as much or _more_ soft than silk. She must have been nagging the guard for a long time, because he finally said, in an absolutely exasperated voice :

“If I let you touch it, will you leave me alone?”

                Meraclya swore that yes, of course, and the guard took off his helmet ( _bad mistake_ ) before approaching the cell. The prisoner reached out with one hand to caress a strand of his hair... And then, as fast as lightning, she grabbed the guard’s neck with this same hand and smashed his head against the cell’s bars. The guard collapsed, and Meraclya reached out to take the keys that were hanging from his pants and used them to unlock her prison. She got out of it, stepping over the guard, and was about to start running when she remarked Legolas’ presence in the corridor, paralysed a few meters from her from surprise and, he had to admit, admiration for her resourcefulness. She stopped short.

“Oh, seriously?!” she shouted, furious, surprising even more the prince of Mirkwood. “You choose _this_ moment to visit the prison?!”

                The elf didn’t even have to find an answer ; with a frustrated scream, Meraclya threw the keys that she had just stolen at him and returned to her cell, closing the door behind her.

                Stunned, Legolas walked to her cell to see the young woman standing just behind the door, fuming. What was she doing? Was it a trap?

“You know, prince of Mirkwood, your horrible timing just destroyed one of my best plans,” she said.

                This got Legolas out of his silence.

“But why don’t you try to escape nonetheless?!” he asked, dumbfounded. “I am alone!”  
“I don’t want to fight against you” she muttered.  
“Why?” Legolas asked, taken aback.

                Meraclya let out the most contrite sigh the prince had ever heard, and he had lived for more than _three thousand years_. Amongst _elves_.

“Because I do not want to harm you. I couldn’t even get myself to seriously try to hit you. Are you going to lock me in, now? This situation is already ridiculous enough.”

                Legolas complied, still as confused.

“You would rather stay in prison than risk harming me in a fight where I would be armed and not you?” the elf said, dubious and incapable of letting it go.

                The young woman had a small smile.

“Well, it’s not like my behavior usually makes sense, does it?”

                Legolas found himself smiling too.

“You are quite unbelievable,” he answered.  
“No, what’s unbelievable is that this attempt actually worked. This was one of my most delicate, I pretty much only tried it to distract myself!”

                Legolas laughed and didn’t mention the fact that Meraclya had just admitted that she had other plans already thought of and ready. It wasn’t as if he was going to tell on her, and he was under the impression the the young human knew it very well, which wasn’t exactly a good thing, but well. It’s not like he wasn’t already in too deep.

                The prince stayed a few more minutes, until the guard woke up. He made sure that the guard had no memory whatsoever as to how he had gotten knocked out, and then proceeded to tell him with faked anger that he had simply stumbled and fell down on his head, and by Valar, what was he, a royal guard or an elfling?? The guard apologized profusely, and Legolas told him drily to go get himself a healer and to send another guard to take his place.

                He didn’t even realize how absurd it was to lie to protect a simple prisoner, because it wasn’t a simple prisoner, it was _Meraclya._

                **IV.**

                The fourth time she tried to escape, the guards knew her reputation and didn’t underestimate her anymore, didn’t turn out in her favor : when Legolas arrived in the hall, having followed the screams that had worried him, it was to see Meracly get hit on the head with a sword’s pommel. The young woman immediately collapsed in the middle of the guards that she was fighting, and the elf couldn’t keep himself from running as fast as he could to get to her, anxious. He was by her side in less than two seconds, and he had to use all his self-control to keep himself from lashing out at the guard that had just harmed her, instead congratulating him for his blow in a voice that he hoped was not too pale. He couldn’t refrain, though, from frenetically feeling Meraclya’s wrist, trying to find a pulse. Fortunately, as soon as he touched her, the young woman opened her eyes (he almost blacked out from relief) and smiled when she saw Legolas leaning over her.

“Prince of Mirkwood,” she slurred, “I think that was my last escape attempt.”

                Legolas laughed a little shakily. Really, this woman was unbelievable.

“You only say this so we stop watching you so closely,” he replied in a voice that he hoped sounded furious enough for the guards.

                He would never know, for the guards, but Meraclya must have heard the fondness that lay in his words, because she laughed softly.

“Maybe,” she said. “But truth be told, it isn’t really your guards that keep me from escaping.”

                Legolas frowned, confused by her words, but the young woman didn’t explain further, and the prince forced himself to stand back up and to order the guards to bring the human back to her cell. He also told them to send her a healer : it would be bad for the kingdom’s reputation if a prisoner died in prison, after all.

**V.**

                The fifth time she tried to escape, it turned out she wasn’t really trying to escape.

                It was the night following her last failed attempt, and Legolas had waited with impatience for the night to fall on the kingdom before going to see how she was doing. The healer that had examined her had said that she had a concussion and had to drink a lot of water and not sleep until morning, and he wanted to make sure she would follow those instructions well.

                When he arrived in the prisoners’ corridor, there was only one guard, and he was standing right outside Meraclya’s cell. Legolas told him to go get some rest, that he would take his place, and when the guard shot him a suspicious look, he added in a cold tone that would have made his father proud :

“This human has been able to escape way too many times. I am going to take advantage of her weakness to interrogate her.

                The guard seemed satisfied with this explanation, and left after bowing before the prince. The elf waited until he was out of (elf)ear shot before turning to Meraclya. The girl stood up from her bunk to come closer to him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “It is quite late for a visit.”  
“You have a concussion, and the healer said you shouldn’t sleep before morning,” Leglolas answered. “I came to make sure you would follow these recommendations.

                The young woman’s smile widened.

“So you are going to keep me company?”  
“Yes,” the elf confirmed with a smile.

                Meraclya shot him a broad smile before sitting down on the ground in front of Legolas, who did the same on his side of the cell.

“We have plenty of time to talk, then?”she asked.  
“Yes. Until the sun rises.”  
“Can I ask you to tell me about Mirkwood, in that case? Maybe I can’t see it with my own eyes, but your words would soothe my curiosity.”

                Legolas didn’t see anything bad in that, and so he started telling everything he knew about his kingdom. He talked for hours, answering all the questions of the young woman, who was drinking his words with eagerness. Her eyes were opened wide, alert, and more than one, the elf had a hard time refraining from reaching out and caressing her face. He didn’t know how he could have ever thought that she had nothing remarkable : he didn’t remember ever seeing such a beautiful and brilliant creature. He knew those thoughts were forbidden, and that Meraclya was bound to leave soon, but he couldn’t suppress them, and he revelled in those few moments of intimacy, the only ones they would probably ever have, with a desperate greed.

                When he didn’t know what to say anymore, he questioned her about her life, her village, her family, and though she hesitated at first, she ended up telling him everything he wanted to know. It was a long moment before she stopped talking. She studied him silently, her face serious, as the first lights of the sun filtered through the prison’s tiny window. After a moment, she hesitantly reached out through the bars of the cell with one hand to take his, which was lying on his knees. He let her, his heart suddenly threatening to break his ribs.

“You like me,” she whispered, eyes fixed on their intertwined fingers.

                It wasn’t a question, but Legolas still nodded.

“Why?” she breathed.

                She raised her head to look into his eyes, waiting for an answer.

“I do not know,” he finally answered, and it was the truth.

                She smiled.

“Can you trust me for a moment?” she asked.  
“Of course,” he answered, too quickly, but he was past caring.

                The young woman took her hand out of his and, slowly, reached out to take the keys that were lying next to him. He grabbed her wrist to stop her in one swift movement, frowning.

“Please,” she said, “just trust me. I will not try to escape, I swear.”

                Legolas thought this looked a lot like an escape attempt, but he let her go. He stood up and studied her as she unlocked her cell door, opened it and took a step to stand before him, suddenly very close. He could feel the warmth of her skin and he could not move.

“Will you attack me like the other guard you tricked?” he asked, his throat suddenly dry.  
“No, not you,” she answered with something in her voice that sounded very much like the confused, desperate longing that the elf was feeling since he had met her. “I never trick you. Not you.”

                And she kissed him.

                She kissed him just like that, fiercely, passionately, like he wasn’t a prince and she a prisoner, like she couldn’t be severely punished for her boldness. She kissed him freely, like she seemed to do everything, and after one moment of stunned immobility, Legolas found himself kissing her back, clutching her waist between his hands, pressing her against him. He had never lived anything so passionate, he had never felt so alive, he had never desired someone so much. And he had lived _more than 3000 years._ Amongst _elves._

                Their embrace lasted an eternity or a few seconds, and then Meraclya took a step back to look at him.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I had to do it now, before I go.”

                Legolas studied her, fists clenched to not reach out for her again.

“Those failed attempts,” he asked, voice slightly hoarse, “you were sabotaging them yourself, weren’t you?”

                The young woman had a sad smile.

“I don’t know if you can call that sabotaging them myself. I think my subconscious, maybe, sabotaged them.”  
“Why?”  
“I do not know.”

                He understood in her smile what she didn’t want to admit, what she didn’t want to name rather, because it was impossible and that it would hurt them both.

                The prisoner returned to her cell, and the prince closed the door behind her, locked it.

“Thank you for everything, Legolas,” she said.

                The elf smiled and bowed slightly.

“The pleasure was all mine.”

                The human laughed and the prince was going to leave, but she called out for him again.

“Legolas?”  
“Yes?”  
“I will probably go to Rohan, afterwards.”

                The elf smiled.

“Duty noted.”

                And they parted like this.

**VI.**

In the end, it wasn’t their final goodbye, and Meraclya didn’t even have to escape : Legolas came to release her a few hours only after leaving her, while she was sleeping. He arrived in panic, screaming that she had to get up and frenetically trying to unlock her cell’s door.

“Legolas?” she said in a sleepy voice, confused. “What is going on?”  
“Orcs are attacking,” the elf answered.  
“What?!”   
“Orcs are attacking!” he repeated with impatience. “There are a lot of them, I fear they may manage to penetrate the palace.”

                The young woman immediately stood up, all her senses alert, as Legolas opened her cell’s door.

“Here, put this on,” he told her, throwing a feather-light coat of mail at her. “It’s mithril, it should protect you a little.”

                He waited until she had put it on before handing her her weapons, that she hung on her without protesting, and her travel bag.

“You know the path to get out of here?” the prince asked her once she was ready.

                She nodded, too confused and stunned to speak yet.

“Good. Go through the gardens, at the right of the palace, they should be empty. Make sure nobody sees you, and run as fast as you can. I filled your quiver with arrows if there came to be a problem, here or in the dark forest, but try to avoid confrontations, alright?”

                Legolas didn’t wait for her answer, shooting her one last look before turning around to leave, but Meraclya caught him by the arm.

“Wait!” she protested. “Where are you going?”  
“I’m going to fight those orcs to protect Mirkwood, of course.”

                He tried to wrench his arm free, but she hung on.

“I’m coming with you, then,” she said. “I’ll escape afterwards.”  
“What? No! You’re going to run away _now_ , you’re certainly not going to get into this battle.”

                Meraclya looked into his eyes, a determined expression on her face, and Legolas knew he wouldn’t win this argument.

“I am coming with you,” she repeated firmly. “I know how to fight, I can be useful. And it isn’t like you could prevent me from doing so...”

                Legolas swore. She was right.

“Alright,” he said, visibly unhappy. “But you better not get killed.”

                The young woman hinted a smile.

“Stop underestimating me. I can perfectly fight off a few stupid orcs.”

                She let go of the elf, which only seemed half convinced but turned around to start running, Meracly right behind him.

\------------------------

                She was magnificent in battle. An even better warrior than Legolas had thought. She killed efficiently and without hesitation, dodged every blow with confidence and grace. Oh, Legolas still kept an eye on her for the whole time the attack lasted, but he stopped really worrying about her after only a few minutes. She didn’t need his protection.

                The battle ended after another hour, leaving the elves that had repelled the enemy exhausted. Fortunately, there were few loss amongst Mirkwood’s residents, and Meraclya was unharmed. Legolas realized they were lucky to have had her with them : the human had killed at least 25 orcs alone. It was an exploit only surpassed by Mirkwood’s best warriors. He actually told that to Meraclya, who only laughed it off and said he wouldn’t be so surprised if he didn’t underestimate her so much. Legolas swore he would never do that again. The human and the elf exchanged a smile, and for a few seconds, despite the corpses and the blood, the moment was beautiful.

                And then Thranduil saw his son and the prisoner.

“What is going on here?” he hissed, approaching them. “Guards, grab her!”  
“No!” Legolas screamed. “Wait! Ada, she helped us! ”

                He turned to Meraclya, wanting to tell her to defend herself and thell them about her feats, but the words died in his throat when he saw her frozen expression and her eyes fixed on a spot at the right of the king. The prince followed her stare to see Laëda, the head of the healers and a friend of his father, who was staring at the young woman with an impassive, yet intense look.

“You have your father’s eyes,” she said, “but for the rest, you look a lot like your mother.”  
“And you look considerably better than my other grandmother,” Meraclya shot back.

                Legolas was absolutely lost : what did this all mean? How did the two women know each other? And what had Meraclya just said? Her _other grand-mother_??

“Wait a minute,” the elfe intervened, turning to the young woman. “You are Laëda’s grand-daughter?!”

                Meraclya sighed.

“Yes,” she admitted.  
“But why didn’t you say so??”  
“I had a feeling my grand-mother didn’t really wanna be made aware of my existence.”  
“Bu then, why come here, if not to meet her?”

                She sighed again, and then turned her attention on Thranduil, knowing he was finally going to get the answers he had been looking for.

“My father always said that you can’t go forth if you don’t know where you come from. After his death, a short time ago, I found myself lost, so I decided to go discover some of my ancestors’ land, see if that could help me.”  
“But why not say so when we imprisoned you?!”  
“Well, as I already said, I was pretty sure my grand-mother didn’t want to see me and would only throw me out of the kingdom anyway, which wouldn’t help my researches. I thought that spending a little time in prison could at least teach me a thing or two about this people, at least more than getting thrown out.

                A silence followed her declarations. Thranduil opened his mouth after a moment, probably to tell Meraclya that indeed, she had thought right, he _was_ going to get her thrown out of his realm now that he had the truth, but Laëda spoke before the words had left his mouth :

“Your father is dead?” she suddenly repeated, startling her grand-daughter.  
“Yes,” she answered soberly. “Two months ago.”  
“And your mother? ”

                This time, you could hear a little more emotion in her voice, and suddenly everything came back to Legolas : it was a story that had taken place a little more than 30 years ago. Laëda’s daughter, Sinyl, had fallen in love with a human. Her mother hadn’t accepted it and had forbidden her to betroth him. She probably thought her daughter was only experiencing a young love and hadn’t suspected the depth of her feelings : the day after her interdiction, Sinyl had disappeared with the man, and nobody ever saw her again in Mirkwood. It had caused a real scandal in the palace, but nobody dared talk about it in front of Laëda.

                Meraclya’s face, that had been hard until now, softened, and Legolas felt his heart clench, understanding that Laëda and Sinyl’s story would not have a happy ending.

“I am afraid so,” she said softly. “She died when I was 12. I’m sorry.”

                Laëda’s features froze, but she didn’t otherwise let her emotion show.

“Do you have siblings?” she asked instead.  
“Two died with my mother. I have an older brother, but he travels a lot, and I don’t see him much.”

                Laëda studied her grand-daughter in silence, and Meraclya proudly raised her head to meet her stare. Her grand-mother spoke again after a while :

“Come here,” she said, reaching out with her hand.

                Meraclya obeyed, and Laëda gently touched her forehead, her hair, placing a strand behind her ear in a slightly shaking gesture.

“King Thranduil,” she then said, eyes still on the young woman, “I ask you to grant my grand-daughter the permission to stay with me here in our kingdom, for as long as she wants to.”

                There was a movement of general surprise, but the most surprised was definitely Meraclya, who froze, eyes wide opened.

“Wh... What?” Thranduil sputtered. “There is no way I would grant this to…”  
“My Lord,” Laëda interrupted, “this is my grand-daughter you are speaking of, and she certainly has the right to discover her ancestors’ land. And she is a great warrior, and her help has been precious alongside your warriors today.”  
“She is right, father,” Legolas intervened. “Assuredly, Meraclya’s actions today make up for the few lies she has told before you. She risked her life, after all.”

                The king sighed, visibly annoyed.

“Very well,” he said. “But she has better not cause any more disturbances.”

                He sighed again, and Legolas repressed a smirk. There was little his father hated more than not have his way.

“Meraclya, grand-daughter of Laëda, I welcome you to Mirkwood.”

                Legolas was aware that the moment was charged with emotions, and that he should have stayed impassible in respect for his father’s anger and Laëda’s mourning, but he couldn’t help the smile that spread his lips at his father’s words, a bright joy bubbling inside of him: she was staying.

                She would stay.

                Meraclya turned her head to him, and he saw that she too couldn’t repress her smile, and he thought his father was probably understanding what was going on between them, if he hadn’t already, but he found out he didn’t care.

                He was in love with this strange human, and he would court her, no matter what it’d cost him.

                **OUTRO.**

                He was pulled away from sleep by the soft sound that her feet made when they made contact with his bedroom’s floor. He sat back on his bed, alert, but relaxed when he saw her before him, lit by the soft, blueish glow of the moon, a young, laughing semi-human. Meraclya.

“And I thought I was going to surprise you,” she said.

                Legolas smiled.

“It takes more to surprise an elven warrior,” he answered.

                Meraclya laughed again before approaching his bed. He felt a little embarrassed, as he was only wearing thin leggings and the even thinner bed sheet that was covering his legs, but his shyness melted away when he saw the appreciating way in which Meraclya looked at him. Another feeling awoken inside of him, that grew when he studied the young woman, seeing that her body was only covered with a thin shirt and leggings that resembled his.

“Does your grand-mother know you’re here?” he teased to try and regain his composure.

                Meraclya laughed.

“Legolas, if I can escape from a royal prison, you can probably guess that I can leave my grand-mother’s house in all secrecy...”

                Legolas smiled.

“I have no doubt in that, actually. But why take so many risks? Only to visit me?”

                Meraclya had a very soft smile.

“You took greater risks to come visit me in my cell,” she replied.

                Legolas smiled. The young woman came a little closer to him, resting her hands on his shoulders, caressing him with her hands that were slightly cold because of the night’s cold air. The elf stiffened, not knowing what to do, and he was about to say something when Meraclya solftly told him to keep quiet.

                Then, just as soflty, she leaned down and touched his lips with hers.

                This kiss was even better than the last one they had exchanged : it was calm, not urgent at all, as this time, the human and the elf had all the time in the world. Meraclya was kissing him just as freely, but with passion instead of despair and like she only had to do that for the rest of her life –and Legolas caught himself thinking dumbly that he hoped it would be the case, that they could spend the rest of their lives kissing in the blue half-light of his bedroom.

                Then, Meraclya opened her mouth, tracing Legolas’ lips with her tongue, and the prince stopped thinking altogether.

                The kiss lasted for a long, long time, and when the two lovers broke apart, Legolas was slightly out of breat.

“I wanted to properly court you,” was the first thing he said, without even thinking about it.

                Meraclya laughed.

“You can court me during the day, alright?” she said in a teasing tone.

                And then she pushed Legolas down on the bed, stretching out on top of him to kiss him again, and the elf thought that yes, indeed, courting her during the day, and doing _this_ during the night, that was an excellent idea.


End file.
